In what was an unofficial kickoff to the 2004 Senior Week, 120 seniors sipped on margaritas and slammed down beers on the first annual Moody Mile Pub Crawl last Thursday night. Pub Crawl co-coordinator Corey Leaffer '04 conceived the idea. She said that while studying abroad in Australia, her program offered a similar night on the town. She wanted seniors to have a chance for some last minute bonding before Senior Week.

Seniors paid $15 for transportation and a Pub Crawl T-shirt. But the evening began with free pizza and beer at the Stein.

Afterward, Crystal Transport buses ferried students to several bars in Waltham-Joe Sent Me, The Mad Raven, Iguana Cantina and Dos Amigos.

The Southwestern-themed restaurant and bar Iguana Cantina closed its doors to the public in order to accommodate the large number of excited seniors. Students had to be present their IDs upon entering, but were then set loose to kick back and enjoy some good conversation and cold drinks on the eve of commencement.

Iguana Cantina also provided trays with meat, shells and toppings so that students could make their own tacos.

At The Mad Raven located on Main Street, Aaron Schwid '04 distributed approximately 100 free shots provided by the bar for seniors to make toasts to their time at Brandeis.

At Dos Amigos, the introduction of a flock of Brandeis students made for an interesting dynamic with the bars' regular patrons. While for many Brandeisans it was a unique opportunity to hobnob with the locals, some female students did not seem to respond favorably to being hit on.

"[The bars] are really excited to reach out to Brandeis students," Leaffer said during the crawl..

Director of Public Safety Ed Callahan said the event was "well planed." He also helped to arrange transportation for students around town.

"This is a great way to celebrate our last few months here and our time at Brandeis," Jess Levenson '04 said.

Brandeis seniors said they enjoyed this event.

"I am proud to be a part of the senior class and starting a new tradition at Brandeis," Heath Sandak '04 said.

The event concluded with students decorating the Louis Brandeis statue for Spirit week.

The Brandeis police report, which was released on Sunday, said that Waltham Police would arrest students for "all alcohol violations." But according Callahan, everything went as well as planned. Detective Tim King of the Waltham Police also did not hear of any serious complaints about the crawl.

"There were no real reports," Callahan said.